One Step Forward

Wow I did not expect such an awesome response from you guys, seriously as I'm typing this 50 favourites, 73 followers and 9 reviews, that is awesome for a prologue and I'm really hoping not to disappoint you guys. I want to give a shout out to one of my main inspirations for writing this story, RebukeX7, check out his stuff, his work is absolutely incredible.

Ramlin: I feel like this will take less than 5 chapters to get to Beacon, maybe who knows.

Chapter Master: The blind!Jaune universe is inspired by Netflix's show 'Daredevil', the badass!Jaune I took inspiration from Zoro, Kenshin and Naruto from Just A Simple Janitor.

Chapter 1: Last Living Souls


Jaune bowed his head in silence and stared at the small gravestone with lifeless eyes. He didn't know how long he stood there, his mind still in shock. The small gravestone was situated to another with a rose on it. The world, the war, nothing mattered now. Not when she was dead. The soft crunch of grass registered in his mind and a figure stood next to him. Both of them stood in silence as they stared at the graves. The words on the tombstone haunting them.

"How are you holding up?" The man asked, his voice dead with no life in it.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that, Qrow?" Jaune croaked and Qrow frowned in thought before that uncaring mask fell back into place.

"Fair enough. I saw you at the funeral but you didn't come up to say anything." Silence filled the void, Qrow knew Jaune was hurting like he was becoming more and more 'him'.

"Here this helps." Qrow handed him a bottle of whiskey and Jaune took the bottle in hand, uncorking it. "It's helped me for years."

Jaune downed half of the bottle, the burning sensation at the back of his throat distracted him momentarily but the sorrow and anger was still there and he gave the bottle back to Qrow. He downed it with as much vigour as he did.

"She saved everyone," Qrow muttered, he sat himself in front of the grave. "She fought against Cinder herself to give the Huntsmen enough time to retreat. Fought like a woman possessed, but that it wasn't enough. She used the last of her aura to nuke Cinder. Died in the blast but somehow Cinder still lived, gave the bitch a scar too. She couldn't heal from that at least. The intel she gave us was vital in tracking the location of Salem's citadel."

Jaune's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before they narrowed. "I take it you sent out scouts."

"Of course. We'll get the details soon before we storm the citadel."

"Does she know?"

"Yeah, she knows and she's furious. We'll need that." Qrow glanced at the bottle, still with a small amount before leaving it in front of the grave.

"How do you deal with Qrow? The loss, the pain. Does it ever get better?" Jaune asked quietly, hoping in some way that the man beside him had an answer.

"No, it never gets better, the alcohol makes you forget the pain for a moment but everything just keeps coming back, keep hurting. That's why you're looking at a ghost of man. Jaune, my niece... she's my last light, Jaune, if I lose her I can't…"

Nothing else was said between the two. They both stewed in their own suffering, their hell, fueling their anger and rage against the enemy, against Salem. Qrow stood up and walked away from the grave before pausing. "Do you know what she said to me before she died."

Jaune looked from the grave to Qrow. "She said that she regretted not seeing you one last time."

Tears trailed down his cheeks as he finally let his sorrow consume him, his bowed once again before snapping up to him.

"Tell me, Qrow, and don't lie to me. Did she suffer in the end?" Qrow paused and lone tear fell to the ground. "Her screams will haunt me forever."

Jaune broke down and touched the lettering on the tombstone.

"Oh please, don't let this be real. I can't lose you... not when I've lost so many." Jaune whispered before wailing in pain, releasing all his grief and despair.

Here lies Yang Xiao Long…


Jaune awoke from the dream, screaming and tears streaming down his face as his mother burst into the room. Seeing him in such a distraught state worried her immensely and she pulled him into a hug.

"Shh, it's alright Jaune, it was just a nightmare." Juniper rubbed small circles on Jaune's back, trying her best to comfort her child. "It won't hurt you."

"But it hurts, Mom, it hurts so much." Jaune cried, his tears dampened Juniper's shirt. Alex stood by the door, his eyes softened and he made his way over to sit besides his wife and son.

Jaune couldn't stop crying, the scars from the past had opened up again, he thought that he had buried it and the nightmare only served to rip it open.

"It's okay we're here, I'm here." Alex hugged both of them and he looked down to see his eight-year old son was staring back with such a haunted expression that his heart broke seeing it.

"What happened, Jaune?"

"It was a scary nightmare, Dad, e-everyone was gone." Jaune's crying slowly trickled to sniffles and he leaned against his father.

"Well, everyone is here, Jaune." He hugged his son tightly. "Me, you, your mother and your sisters, they're all here. And we're never going to leave you. I promise."

Jaune nodded slowly and buried himself in the arms that engulfed him. He began to let go and he resolved himself that he was going to be there for his family, he would cherish every moment. For once, Jaune could finally rest and he steadily drifted into sleep surrounded by the love and warmth of his parents.


Juniper was a beautiful mother of eight children with light brown fox ears atop her head and had decided that a picnic was in order to cheer up Jaune's spirit and the entire family had gone out. She sat beneath the shade of the tree, her yellow sundress tucked underneath her and her green eyes watched her children play by the riverbank. She was proud of her family, the family she was raising, and all of her children. Amber, her eldest child at the age of 16 was lazing under the shade as well, her light chestnut hair covered her eyes as she snoozed away blissfully in her nap.

Azure was another of Jaune's elder sister, with her hair colour the same as her namesake and she was enjoying her day by soaking in the sun and she was lying on a towel with a book besides her. Her fox ears twitched at the laughter of her siblings but she ignored it and returned to her sunbathing. A smaller girl sat by her with dirty blonde hair tied in a ponytail and she was enjoying a book in her hands with studious eyes.

Autumn was unlike her sisters had red hair to match her fiery temper and had decided to simply hang out by the river becoming bored with the whole experience.

"Momma!" A little girl squealed running up to woman cutting into her contemplation, diving into her lap. She stroked the little girl's hair and tried to settle her down. Beautiful light blue eyes shined and Juniper kissed Lily's forehead. Lily giggled and squirmed in her mother's embrace.

"Where's your brother, Lily?" Lily pointed towards the river where he was playing with the twins, one with white hair and the other with black hair and mischievous blue eyes. Ebony and Ivory tried to chase him but he merely laughed it off.

"Momma, why was big brother screaming?" Juniper frowned at that question because she didn't know herself and the concern in Lily's eyes showed, she wanted to know what hurt her brother so badly.

"It was a bad dream, sweetie, just a bad dream." She reassured her daughter and Lily couldn't quite accept her answer, her nose scrunching cutely and she declared to herself.

"Then I'll cheer up big brother." Lily raced down the hill towards her big brother, a bundle of energy disguised as a child and she was heading straight for Jaune. His back was towards her and he didn't realise the blonde missile crash into him until he was face down in the river. A few bubbles popped up and the twins' laughter at his misfortune made the situation much more amusing to the rest of the family.

A shower of water rained down on the water as Jaune picked up Lily and put her on his shoulders.

"Rawr! I'm the great monster of the river and I shall take over the land with my minion!" Lily cheered her brother on and made some growling noises, seeing the act that their brother and sister were putting on they decided to join in as well.

"Ah my dear sister! We must defend the realm from this evil creature!" Ebony cried and picked up a stick in hand to challenge the creature.

"Yes dear sister, charge!" Ivory set forth into the river, intent on tackling Jaune.

"Go horsey!" Lily cheered and Jaune snorted in amusement.

"Hey, I'm not a horse!" Lily ignored him and tugged on his hair telling him to move. Jaune could see Ivory lunging towards him but she succeeded in making a big splash in the water as Jaune skillfully dodged her.

"Jauney, behind us!" Lily screamed in his ear and Ebony raised the mighty stick in the air, hoping to knock him back into the water. The brother/sister combination was too much however and Lily dived on top of Ebony bringing her down as well. Jaune laughed at the sight of his drenched sisters. They all had playful smiles and at unknown signal between them they pulled him down.

"He's much more happier now isn't he?" Alex sat under the shade with his wife, he only wore a tank top but it did nothing to hide the mountain of man that he was and his physique clearly showed it, his muscles like chiseled granite. Juniper lied back against his chest, enjoying the big comfortable teddy bear that she called her husband.

"Spending time with his family does that." Juniper sighed happily, seeing the smiles on their faces. Alex kissed the top of Juniper's head, pressing her body against his chest.

"And I have my wonderful wife to thank for that." Juniper's face flushed at the compliment and snuggled deeper into his chest.

"Oh stop it, Alex otherwise my faunus instincts might takeover." She said in a sing-song voice and a playful smile on her face while she subtly rubbed his crotch.

"Maybe that was what I was aiming for." Alex said with a roguish grin and embraced her. They begin to show their love on a much more... intimate level until a voice cut into their make-out session.

"Can you guys not do this when your daughter is taking a nap not five metres away from you." Amber said, with a little disgust in her voice at seeing her parents suck face with each other.

"Sorry." They said in unison, not sounding sorry at all and continued to scar Amber much to her horror.


Jaune relaxed with his family after they finished playing in the river and he sat back his blonde hair was messed up and blue eyes glanced at the sun that was dipping low in the horizon, painting the sky a myriad of orange and red. His thoughts strayed towards a red-head that he was reminded of and he became regretful. Phyrra. How long had it been? How long would he have to wait to see her again? He wanted to go see her again, to hold her, so many wants but he would have to be patient and he had to bring his mind back to the past.

Lily was tugging at her sister's arm, trying to get her to play and the young blonde seemed to be getting more annoyed each second as her reading time was getting cut into. "C'mon Christy, let's play hide and seek!"

The girl screwed her face in thought and she said with the bluntest tone she could muster. "Hmm, no."

"Aww, please? Please, please, please, please please." Lily's became teary-eyed and she sniffed and the dreaded puppy dog eyes came in full force.

"How about I play?" Jaune came to Crystal's rescue as she was ready to crumble under the look. How she

"Okay, count to thirty and don't peek or else!" With her final warning in place, she dashed off towards the forest and he closed his eyes counting to thirty loudly for Lily's benefit. He opened his eyes to see Crystal still in front of him reading her book.

"Oh no, you found me." Crystal deadpanned, still seated and her eyes not at all leaving her beloved book.

"You can at least try, Christy." He shook his head in exasperation at her laziness and made his way to the forest. "I swear you take after Amber too much."

"I trained you well." Amber nodded at her younger sister and Crystal had a small smirk on her face. "I learnt from the best."

He made his way through the underbrush of the forest and thought maybe it wasn't such a good idea to encourage Lily to play hide and seek when it was so close to dusk. But he was persistent in finding Lily and he did want her to enjoy this outing as much as possible. He blamed his soft spot for his youngest.


He crouched down at the forest floor, taking a pinch of the dirt and inspected it between his fingers. He did have experience of being a huntsmen for over twenty years and he often spent some of those years tracking Grimm. A little girl in a forest. Piece of cake.

"Lily, come out! It's getting dark now!" He shouted and he was met with silence. He continued on with the knowledge that it had rained recently and the forest floor was still damp. He could make out the footprints she left behind that was leading deeper into the forest.

"I'm serious, Lily." He turned around when he heard the bush rustling and made his way over. He was about to reach forward when a shadow leapt towards him. He was about to catch it in his arms when he noticed that this shadow had a bone mask and fangs and managed to punch it away in time. The Beowolf cub whimpered and scurried away, this filled Jaune with dread and he needed to find Lily fast.

"Lily! Lily!" He was answered with numerous howls and fear crept into his mind. He was too young, his body wasn't strong enough and he hadn't unlocked his aura yet. Adrenaline pumped through his veins and he rushed through the forest, coming closer to the howling to find that Lily was surrounded, her back against a tree whimpering in fear. A pack of beowolves were there and he was quick to draw their attention by throwing rocks at them.

"Hey over here!" He shouted, their attention now directed at him and the pack stalked closer to him now. "C'mon."

"No, Jaune!" They lunged towards him and and his hardened instincts allowed him to dodge their bites and slashes from their claws. He was steadily making his way forward towards his sister. His body weaved through the claws and he flipped through every opening that allowed him to get closer. A beowolf's attention however was solely focused on Lily and its fangs were ready to tear apart Lily.

"No!" His eyes glowed white briefly and his body shimmered in a blur of speed as he grabbed his little sister. She was shivering in fear and she looked up to see her brother holding her. He hugged his little sister and ignore the burning sensation on his arms and legs.

"Jaune, you're bleeding!" Lily cried, tears in her eyes at seeing her brother hurt.

"I'll be fine." He didn't come out unscathed from his dodge marathon and blood stained his clothes, his body being too slow to entirely move out of every swipe and the beowolves seemed more eager for blood.

"I'm scared, Jaune." Those words rang through his mind and a beowulf pounced forward, ready to end their lives.


Rain pelted him and blood soaked his hands as he gazed into two silver orbs. He held the slender figure in his arms, bleeding and dying. He was running with her in his arms and her arm slung over his shoulders. Her head rolling back and forward, in and out of consciousness.

"Jaune, stop…" She murmured, her breaths coming in desperate pants. Jaune kept running making out shadowy figures in the distance.

"I'm not gonna stop, Ruby, not until reinforcements come along." Bombs whistled through the air near their position, dirt rising in a spectacular shower and the figures in the distance were coming closer.

"Look, Ruby, reinforcements are here, you're gonna be alright." Jaune smiled in relief and tears sprung in his eyes which slowly turned to horror when he realised the shadowy figures were Grimm, of all shapes and sizes.

"Let me down, Jaune, please…" She whispered and he complied, letting her rest against a rock as angry tears streamed down his face at the hopelessness of the situation. He punched the ground in rage. He felt so useless.

"Don't die on me, Jaune. Go." His heart broke at hearing those words, seeing the blood run down her mouth and the resigned look in her eyes.

"I can't leave you, Ruby! We were so close! Damnit you were the one who was supposed to outlast me." He honestly wished that he wasn't so pathetic, he wished that wasn't so slow and he wished that Ruby didn't take the hit for him. "I'm so fucking useless!"

"You're not useless. You're special and we need your leadership to win this." She coughed up blood and began hyperventilating as she began to look around in fear.

"I'm scared, Jaune." He hugged her body close to him, not caring at all as how her blood stained his armour. "I know, I'm scared too." The Grimm were getting closer and Salem's army was trailing behind them. Her breathing was more erratic and his grip became tighter, dearly wishing that this wasn't happening. He gazed into his eyes and she let out one final breath.

"I love you." Jaune's world shattered as Ruby Rose passed away with a smile on her face. Hot tears trailed down his eyes and he closed his eyes shut as he laid her down on the ground peacefully, taking Crescent Rose and Crocea Mors in hand. His eyes snapped open, unholy rage filled his entire being as a pillar of aura burst from him. The Grimm knew fear that day.


A pillar of white light burst from Jaune and his aura formed two crude swords in his hand. The beowolf disintegrated in mid-lunge and his eyes glowed white. Jaune walked forward as the beowolves growled at him, threateningly. The warrior within Jaune emerged as he looked at them through calculating, cold eyes and he rushed forward.

A blade sunk into their skull and ripped out, bone and blood flying. A lunge forward and Jaune side-stepped and brought his blade up, severing the Grimm into two. He flew forward with purpose, slicing, stabbing, killing. Anything that would harm his sister. Fangs bit into flesh and he continued forward with a furious roar, his blade decapitating the offending Grimm.

Jaune finally came face to face with the Alpha and he panted tiredly, blood seeping down his face and his body shook from the untold amount of aura coursing through him.

The Alpha roared at him in challenge and rushed forward to meet Jaune. Jaune charged forward ignoring the screaming protests of his body as the Alpha brought its black arm back. He dived down, his face missing the spikes that was about to pierce him. His swords dug into the ground stopping his momentum and he brought his blade up to block another swipe and felt himself faltering as his aura waned.

"Big brother, you can do it!" Lily cheered and Jaune managed to push the arm away from him slicing the appendage off.

The Alpha roared again in pain as blood forth from the stump and his blade shattered like glass. Jaune fell back in exhaustion and the Alpha sensed this moment of weakness and was prepared to bury its claws into him. Jaune reacted in time and brought his other sword, driving through the beowolf's throat and he gasped in pain to see one of its claws had pierced him.

The last thing he saw was his father and sister, Amber, bursting from the forest, his battleaxe and her bow trained at the Grimm before their eyes sought his, widening in horror.


Alright don't forget to follow, favourite and review. I will try to post this chapter and I'm making no promises by next Monday. Until then...

Sage Out!